Chapter 32: The Clown
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“Mm, you’re right.” Mingzhu reached out and patted Su Lan’s tender cheek reassuringly, feeling justified. Even if Ban Jian didn’t follow her, he would be imprisoned by someone else in the future, his reputation ruined, and he would never see the light of day again. It was better to follow her. Eight years later, she would set him free and compensate him generously. As for the rest, why bother thinking too much? Thinking too much would only make life unbearable.
Not long after the carriage left the Jade Emperor Temple, it suddenly stopped. Even from such a distance, Mingzhu could hear Yuwen You’s voice, so sincere, so regretful: “It’s my fault for accidentally injuring Mingzhu… That’s why I hurried back to the capital last night and obtained the empress dowager’s edict, inviting the best physician, Imperial Physician Zhang, to treat Mingzhu’s injuries. Since we met on the way, let’s take a look first, prescribe the medicine, then send someone back quickly with the medicine so that Mingzhu can receive treatment as soon as she returns.”
So that’s what he meant by “you wait” yesterday. No wonder there was no sign of him when she went to Yuwen Chu’s place last night. Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but resent Yuwen Chu. Last night, Yuwen You was clearly not on the mountain, yet he still used Yuwen You to threaten her. He really wasn’t a good person. Once again, the sound of Yuwen You apologizing came from outside, and Mingzhu couldn’t help feeling a bit desolate. This is the power of survival. When she begged him, he ignored her because he knew she wouldn’t give him up. But when she finally did, he immediately lowered his noble head and began to show the world how much he had changed and how deeply he loved her.
She would never let him have his way. Mingzhu waved for Su Lan to come over. “You go, say a word to Linan Wang…”
Su Lan got off the carriage, first walked to Fu Mingzheng and bowed, saying crisply, “Miss wants me to pass a message to Linan Wang.”
Fu Mingzheng frowned unhappily but didn’t stop Su Lan. He lazily waved his hand. Su Lan then walked to Yuwen You, greeted him respectfully, followed all the etiquette, and finally took a deep breath to say, “Clown.” Her voice was neither loud nor soft, just enough for the people around to hear.
Yuwen You’s eyelids couldn’t help but twitch, his eyebrows shot up fiercely, his face twisted into a grimace. Su Lan was startled and quickly stepped back a few steps, warily watching Yuwen You, afraid he might lose control and beat her up.
But the next moment, Yuwen You burst into laughter, a laughter tinged with sadness and helplessness. Even though he knew he should continue acting out this passionate drama, he couldn’t bring himself to do it anymore. So he could only stand by the roadside, watching the carriage carrying Mingzhu pass by him.
The curtain that had been hanging down suddenly rolled up, and Mingzhu leaned out, her face looking exceptionally miserable, and greeted the imperial physician Zhang, who had been rushed overnight, severely sleep-deprived, and lacked any vitality.
Imperial Physician Zhang was dumbfounded, not snapping out of it until the Fu family’s entourage had gone far away. He turned to Yuwen You, trembling, and asked, “That… that was…”
Yuwen You gave him a dark look, gritted his teeth, and jumped onto his horse to chase after them.
Imperial Physician Zhang hesitated. He felt it was best not to get involved in this matter. He couldn’t afford to offend either the Empress Dowager or the Great Empress Dowager, let alone the Fu family. He decisively rubbed his head a few times, indicating that he was old and not in good health, and didn’t have the ability to travel long distances with Yuwen You. Then he went to rest in the Jade Emperor Temple as he wished. It wasn’t until he confirmed that both the Fu family’s people and Linan Wang’s people had gone far away that he dared to get out of bed shamelessly and say, “After coming all this way, why not take a stroll in the mountains to enjoy the scenery.”
Then he heard a visitor outside, it was Tang Chunlai, the physician from Ying Wang’s Mansion, who heard he was here and came specially to see him. Both of them were medical practitioners, and they didn’t have any grudges against each other, so they got along quite well. After exchanging pleasantries, Tang Chunlai asked, “You’re not serving in the palace, why did you come here?”
“This is really unexpected. When immortals fight, the little ghosts suffer…” Physician Zhang smiled bitterly and waved his hand. “Linan Wang was quite ruthless, he beat a beautiful young girl into such a state that even her parents wouldn’t recognize her.”
Tang Chunlai sympathized and said, “Indeed, yesterday Fourth Master Fu came to our prince’s mansion begging for help, asking incompetent me to treat Miss Fu’s illness. He said she was in pain in her abdomen, tsk, internal organs are injured…”
“That serious?” Physician Zhang looked at Tang Chunlai with suspicion, realizing from their exchange of glances what he should do next. The fact that Linan Wang had cruelly beaten his fiancée and caused her injury was something that couldn’t be erased. Even Ying Wang, who usually didn’t meddle in right and wrong, was now on the side of the Fu family. Linan Wang’s future was really worrying.
The Fu Mansion was always bustling with visitors, especially recently, there were quite a few relatives and friends who came to congratulate them on their marriage, and since these people came from afar, they all stayed at the Fu Mansion. Mingzhu wasn’t worried at all that no one would see her carefully crafted appearance. In fact, when they arrived, they coincidentally met Madam Zhen, the wife of the high ranking official of Dali Temple, who was visiting the Fu Mansion, and the one hosting her was Mingzhu’s sister-in-law, Lady Qian.
As the eldest daughter-in-law and elder sister-in-law, Lady Qian was both worried and angry after receiving the news from the servants. She apologized to the guests, “There’s an urgent matter at home, our young lady has had some trouble, and Madam is also very upset. We have to go over and arrange things quickly. I hope you won’t be offended by the neglect.”
Madam Zhen, the wife of the Minister of the Dali Temple, is a well-known gossip. Even the dignity of the prime minister’s mansion cannot resist the blazing fire of gossip in her heart. She immediately asked with great concern, “What could possibly happen to such a good girl? I am usually well taken care of by Sister Cui, and I have always been fond of that child Mingzhu. If they have something going on, I can’t refuse. Let me go with you to take a look. Perhaps I can be of help.”
Lady Qian said with embarrassment, “Madam, you’re too kind.”
Madam Zhen followed automatically, “Don’t be polite, I’ve been wanting to repay Older Sister Cui. You can rest assured, even if I can’t help much, I won’t cause trouble.”
This was definitely a lively event worth attending. The Dali Temple minister held the rank of third grade, not some insignificant little official, and besides, Fu Mingzheng was still working in the Dali Temple’s office, and the two families were old friends. No one dared to say anything against the wife of the Dali Temple Minister. Feeling triumphant with her successful scheme, Lady Qian pretended to be unwilling as she led Madam Zhen to the second gate to greet the guests.
Mingzhu was surrounded by more maidservants who treated her like a snowman, lifting her up and placing her on a soft chair. Before Lady Qian and the others could come forward to offer their condolences, the wife of the Minister of the Dali Temple had already spontaneously stepped forward to find out what was going on.
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